Radically Civil : Saving Democracy One Conversation at a Time

If you feel like the world has gone to hell in a handbasket, you’re not alone. If you often feel there’s nothing you can do about it, you’re also not alone. Along with this increasing anger, fear, and frustration, much confusion still prevails on the appropriate communication practices for responding to difficult situations and improving our lives. Communication experts Robert Danisch and William Keith explain why and how we can practice radical civility in this practical guide to everyday “political” communication.

This guide begins with examples of radical civility to show the potential of this kind of communication to change minds and bridge differences. The authors then unpack the three foundational principles of radical civility as useful theoretical tools for thinking throughout interactions with others in civic spaces. This is then followed by a three-step process for practicing radical civility drawing on research into active listening and its importance for creating connections, validating other views, and opening up possibilities for future conversation. The guide concludes with evidence-based communication practices and prescriptive recommendations for how to do each and show examples of each in action.

Radically Civil: Saving Democracy One Conversation at a Time is a much-needed communication-based antidote to polarization, preparing students, researchers, and community leaders to be responsible participants in today’s society.

Robert Danisch is Professor of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of three monographs and a popular book on communication practices and the host of the communication skills podcast “Now We’re Talking.” His work has appeared in Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Social Epistemology, Public Understanding of Science, and Southern Communication Journal. He teaches courses in Communication Ethics, Speech Writing, Persuasion, Small Group Communication, and Public Communication.

William Keith is Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He is the author of the award-winning Democracy as Discussion: Civic Education and the American Forum Movement and coauthor of two highly regarded textbooks, The Essential Guide to Rhetoric and Public Speaking: Choices and Responsibility. His current research focuses on the role of rhetoric and communication in public deliberation, with a focus on the intellectual and pedagogical history of the speech communication field.